The Game
by Dingleberry
Summary: Brennan and Shalimar are involved in a deadly game
1. Chapter 1

**THE GAME**

Rated: R for language and violence

Disclaimer - I do not own any of the Mutant X characters in this story, they belong to Tribune Entertainment Company. No copyright infringement is intended. All other characters in the story are mine.

Author's note: I have nothing against Shalimar, in fact she's one of my favorite characters. So please don't think I'm always picking on her because I dislike her. I'm a Brennan/Shalimar fan all the way. :-)

* * *

Brennan and Shalimar climbed into Brennan's Jeep and headed back to Sanctuary.

Shalimar looked at Brennan who didn't look too happy. "Oh come on, stop being such a baby," she laughed. "What is it with the male ego? So a woman beats you at a dumb game, what's the big deal?"

"I have no problem with it," he answered, expressionless.

Shalimar continued to laugh at him, "Yeah, right. You've got 'pissed off' written all over you."

Brennan glanced over at her and then turned back to focus on the road. "Honest. I have no problem with you beating me. Pool isn't one of my best games. Darts, now that's a different story. I would have reigned supreme had we played a few games of darts."

Shalimar shook her head and smirked at him.

Suddenly, a car came out of nowhere and stopped right in front of them. Brennan stomped on the brake but wasn't quick enough, they slammed right into the car in front of them. Glass and pieces of automobile flew all over the street in a loud crash.

Brennan and Shalimar were dazed from the impact but didn't have time to clear their heads. Each of their doors flew open and they were roughly dragged out and pinned to the street. Their Comlink rings were removed and tossed into a sewer drain. Then they were shot with a tranquilizer that knocked them out, instantly.

* * *

Shalimar awoke with a start and found herself sitting in a wooden chair with her hands handcuffed behind her back. Looking up, she saw a large man standing in front of her with stun gun. She winced in pain as she felt a burning sensation on her side from where he'd shocked her.

She looked over and saw the man do the same thing to Brennan.

"Argh! What the hell, man?" Brennan yelled.

"Good job, MacKenzie," a man said as he walked into the dark room. MacKenzie nodded and stepped away from Brennan and Shalimar as the man walked over and stood in front of them. "Welcome," the man said to them.

"Welcome to where?" Brennan asked as he looked around.

"To my game," the man replied. "You two have been chosen to take part in a little game that I've designed." The man looked at Shalimar and frowned as he took out his handkerchief and wiped away some blood on the side of her head, a result of the accident. "I'm sorry we were a little rough with you. Not a very good first impression."

Shalimar tried to move away from him but he grabbed her by the chin tightly, "Now, now, we don't want to make things difficult. As long as you cooperate we'll all have a great time," he said as he smiled at her, letting go of her chin.

The man looked up and saw another man walk into the room. "Ah, George. Good to see you my friend." They shook hands and gave each other a quick hug. "Come over here and meet our players." The man led him over to where they were sitting. "I'm sorry, unfortunately I don't know your names." The man looked at Shalimar, "What's your..."

"You don't even know who we are and yet you've picked us for this...for this 'game'?!?" Brennan interrupted him.

The man looked at Brennan, "I've seen you two in action and knew right away you'd be perfect for this game. I know that you work for someone, because I've seen you talking into those rings of yours."

Both Brennan and Shalimar felt for their Comlink rings, finding them gone.

"Oh, they're gone. We don't want any distractions while playing this game." The man smiled at them calmly. "I don't care who you work for. It's not about them."

Brennan looked at Shalimar and couldn't hide the concern on his face. "What is this 'game'?" he asked as he looked back at the man.

The man crossed his arms over his chest. "A hunting game with a twist. How it will work is, we'll drop both of you off somewhere, separately, and it's up to you to make it back here, at the pier. You BOTH have to make it back here in order to win the game." The man started laughing as he looked at them. "The BEST part is that George and I will be hunting you as you make your way back here." 

George pulled back his jacket and displayed two guns holstered by his sides.

"Oh, and before you think about using a phone to call the police or someone else, think again. MacKenzie here will be monitoring your every move to make sure you're playing by the rules. If you stay in one place for too long, you better run. He'll know where you are every minute but George and I won't. He's just going to ensure that we have that information in case we need it. In case of a problem. But we won't have any problems, right?"

Brennan and Shalimar didn't answer.

The man nodded towards MacKenzie who came back over to Brennan and Shalimar. He pulled out a large black gun, placed it above Shalimar's knee and pulled the trigger.

She gasped in pain and struggled against her handcuffs.

"These are your monitoring devices," the man explained.

MacKenzie did the same to Brennan who was bracing himself for the pain. He shot in the device and Brennan grunted, narrowing his eyes at him.

"Well, now that that's out of the way. Let's get started, shall we?"

"So if you hunt us down and kill us, how much do you get?" Shalimar asked.

"How much?"

"Money, you asshole."

The man laughed and turned to George who started laughing as well. "That's good. You're funny," he said as he leaned in close to Shalimar's face. "I hope I get to be the one that hunts you down because you'll put up a good chase, I can tell. But to answer your question...I don't get anything. I have plenty of money and don't need anymore." He stood up and backed away from her. "We're just doing it for sport."

Brennan felt sick to his stomach and swallowed hard.

"Before we begin I need you to do one thing for me." The man pulled out a small cell phone and brought it over to Brennan. "I want you to call your boss and tell him or her that you and your friend here won't be in for a few days. I don't care what you tell them, just make it believable."

MacKenzie uncuffed one of Brennan's hands and the man handed him the phone. Brennan dialed Adam's number and Adam soon answered.

"Hey Adam, it's Brennan. Listen, me and Shalimar won't be in for a few days. Shalimar got word that her grandmother was killed in a car accident earlier tonight. I'm going to drive with Shalimar to Illinois. We should be back by the end of the week."

"Geez. Tell Shalimar I'm sorry about her loss. Thanks for taking care of her, I appreciate it."

"Well, I better get going if we want to head out in the morning."

"Okay, thanks for calling," Adam said as he hung up the phone.

The man grabbed the phone away from Brennan and tucked it into his pocket. "Nicely played." The man looked over at MacKenzie who was standing in the corner of the room. "MacKenzie, put our friends in the van and bring them to their locations."

MacKenzie knocked them out again and dragged them out into the van where he threw them into the back. 


	2. Chapter 2

MacKenzie pulled Brennan out of the van and threw him on the ground. He zapped him with the stun gun and watched as Brennan awoke, shaking his head. "The key to your handcuffs is over there on the ground. Better get going."

MacKenzie dashed back to the van, got in, and drove away.

Brennan was on his knees trying to find the key in the dirt. The moonlight wasn't casting much light so trying to find the key wasn't easy. "Damn it!" He looked around and saw nothing but land and hills, no houses or city life at all. 

He continued sifting through the dirt trying to find the key and started to get frustrated. "Shalimar!" he yelled out into the night air at the top of his lungs.

* * *

The van came to a stop and MacKenzie got out. He opened up the doors in the back and Shalimar lunged out at him, tackling him to the ground. She head-butted him and he grabbed his forehead in pain as she got up off of him. She was about to begin kicking him but he pulled her legs out from under her. She fell to the ground on her back and was greeted with a gun pointing in her face.

"Stupid move," he said, out of breath. "I WAS going to give you the key to your handcuffs but now you can just forget it." He continued to look at her, squeezing the gun in his hand. "I'd love to put a bullet in you right now but unfortunately that's not how this game is played. But when Aaron finds you, there's no doubt in my mind that he's going to make it painful for you. You'll be begging to die." He began moving away from her, backing up towards the van. "Remember that while you're running for your life." He got into the van and drove away.

Shalimar laid on the ground for a moment and looked at her desolate surroundings. She got to her feet and winced as the handcuffs continued to rub on her sore wrists. Then she began walking in the direction MacKenzie had driven off in.

* * *

The sun began to rise and Shalimar continued walking along the edge of the road. Cars passed her but none would stop, mostly due to the fact that she was handcuffed and people thought she was a prison escapee.

She saw a small gas station up ahead and figured she'd look for something to get the cuffs off.

No one was at the station, for it was too early. She kicked the door open and made her way into the garage, in search of some tools.

After a few minutes she found a pair of bolt cutters. She laid on the ground, bringing her knees in tightly to her chest so she could bring her arms up and get them in front of her. After doing so, she managed to cut the chain between the cuffs. Then she got a thin screwdriver and picked the locks on the cuffs. They fell to the ground and she rubbed her sore, red wrists.

As she was on her way out she saw a pocketknife lying on a table. She grabbed the it and thought for a moment. Then she went into the other room and took a book of matches and a first aid kit that was sitting by the cash register before making her way to the bathroom.

She turned on the light and cringed at the dirty sight before her. But she blocked it from her mind and put her right knee up on the edge of the sink. She ripped her pants away where the monitoring device had been implanted. Feeling around with the tips of her fingers she located the device. 

She lit a match and put the blade into the flame, sterilizing it. She blew the match out and tossed it into the sink. Taking a deep breath she dug the blade into her skin, cutting a one and a half inch slice. Blood immediately flowed down her leg. She moved the skin back and saw the black device. Quickly, she reached in and pulled it out, crying out in pain. She threw the device into the toilet and flushed it.

Opening up the first aid kit, she took out some gauze and tape. She cleaned up the wound as best as she could and then secured a bandage to it. 

She limped out into the other room and grabbed some chips and a soda before heading back out onto the road.

* * *

Brennan's legs were burning from all the walking he'd been doing for the past few hours. He'd gotten off to a slow start because he had been looking for his handcuff key, which he managed to find.

He could hear a car coming up behind him and begin to slow. He swallowed hard, thinking it was Aaron or George. But he turned and saw a little old lady behind the wheel. She stopped the car by his side. "You shouldn't be out here walking alone. It's too dangerous. Come on. Get in."

Normally, Brennan wouldn't have gotten into the car with someone he didn't know but he was desperate at this point. He got in and she drove away.

"Thanks," he said.

"Your car break down?" she asked.

"Um, yeah. A few miles back."

"Where you heading?"

"Into town is fine. You can just drop me off there. Then I can call a tow truck or something."

"In that case it should only be another few miles. At least you were heading in the right direction. Are you from here?"

"No, actually I'm not. I'm on a business trip. Where is 'here'?"

"Kenmore," she said, as if he'd just asked a stupid question.

Even though the town was very small, Brennan knew where it was. It was a good four hours away from the pier and he felt a little disappointed by how far away he really was.

They finally reached the center of town and the woman pulled up in front of a small market. "Is here okay?" she asked.

Brennan smiled at her, "This is fine. Thanks for the ride."

He got out and stood in front of the market as he watched the woman drive away. He looked around at the various stores that lined the street and couldn't help but be reminded of an old western movie the way they were set up.

As he walked from store to store he couldn't find anything that was open.

He noticed a payphone mounted on the side of one of the buildings and debated about using it. But after thinking for a few minutes he ran over to it and put in some change. He quickly dialed Adam's number and held his breath waiting for him to answer. Finally he did.

"Hello?" Adam said sleepily.

"Adam, it's Brennan. Listen, I don't have long to talk. Shalimar and I are in trouble and we need your help. I'm in Kenmore and..."

"I thought you were driving to Illinois?" Adam asked, cutting him off.

"I made it up. These guys kidnapped us and are using us as prey for this hunting game."

"Okay, try and sit tight. I'm on my way."

Just as Brennan was about to answer, shots rang out, one of the bullets struck the side of the payphone. Brennan dropped to the ground and scanned the area, trying to see where the shots were coming from.

"That's a no no!" George's voice boomed through the still, quiet air.

Brennan scooted over against the building, trying to keep himself out of the George's view.

"Go ahead, run!" George yelled.

Brennan heard the his voice getting louder and knew he was drawing closer to him. With a deep breath, Brennan bolted.

George saw Brennan begin to run so he started shooting at him, laughing with each shot.


	3. Chapter 3

Shalimar limped along the road, seeing a small town up ahead. The cut she'd made in her leg was bleeding badly and burned with each step. She suddenly stopped when the sound of gunfire zipped through the air. "Brennan!" she yelled as she began to run towards the town as best as she could.

George continue to walk along the middle of the street in search of Brennan. "Come out, come out wherever you are!" he taunted. Hearing a noise to his left, he turned and began firing. Slowly, he walked over to where he'd just emptied most of his gun, waiting to see Brennan's body. But all he saw was a dead raccoon. "Damn it!"

As Shalimar came down the street she saw George. She quickly got out of sight and crept along the buildings, keeping an eye on him the entire time.

* * *

Aaron heard his cell phone begin to ring so he picked it up.

"Aaron, it's MacKenzie. Something's up with the girl. Her device has been in the same place for fifteen minutes now."

"I'll take care of it," he said before hanging up the phone and tossing it onto the passenger seat. He stomped on the gas and kicked up the dirt of the road behind him.

* * *

Shalimar hid behind a pile of chopped wood that was against one of the buildings. She leaned forward a bit to see where George had gone but in doing so, the wood pile fell over.

George whipped around and began firing as he walked towards the pile of wood. When he got there, he kicked pieces of the wood in frustration as he found no one there. "You're starting to piss me off!" he yelled. Just as he was about to turn and walk away, something on the ground got his attention. He slowly knelt down and inspected spatters of blood on some pieces of the wood. He smiled as he stood up. "Let the games begin," he said.

George's cell phone began to ring in his pocket. He reached in and pulled it out, answering it angrily. "What?!?"

"It's me. Have you seen the girl?"

"No, why?"  


"I think she took her monitoring device out. We're fucked if the police find out what we're doing."

George looked around the area as he talked on the phone. "Don't worry about it. They'll both be dead before either one of them has a chance to talk. I hit the boy so he oughta be giving up pretty damn soon."

"Where are you?"  


"Kenmore," he said. "Hey wait a minute, why am I telling you? What's the point of the hunt if I tell you were the huntees are?"

"Look, we need to find the girl. Nevermind the damn game. I didn't count on her taking the device out. I'll be in Kenmore in about fifteen minutes." George hung up and continued driving as fast as he could.

George tucked the phone back in his jacket and began reloading his gun.

Shalimar slowly made her way up a fire escape on the side of one of the buildings. She got to the roof top and positioned herself against a wooden storage shed that sat in the corner. Wondering what was inside, she opened the door and was tackled to the ground. 

Coming to her senses she realized that Brennan was on top of her, his fist about to connect with her face. "Wait! Wait! It's me!" she said as she put her hands up.

Brennan stopped his fist just in time and felt relief wash over him. "Shal!" he said, winded.

"You okay?" she asked as she wriggled out from under him.

"Yeah," he said, lying.

She looked him over and then spotted the blood all over his left thigh. "Brennan, you've been shot!"

Brennan nodded and leaned against the shed.

She took her belt off and tied it tightly above the wound, causing him to grunt in pain. "Sorry," she said as she inspected the wound. "You better stay put. There's no way you're going to be able to move around on this leg. You're bleeding really bad. Here, get inside the shed and stay low." Shalimar helped him into the shed and got him settled.

"I called Adam," he said.

"You what?"

"There's a payphone down there. He said he's on his way. Let's just wait here until he gets here."

"Are you crazy? We can't both stay here. I'll keep George occupied and away from here until Adam gets here."

"Have you seen Aaron?"

"No. You?"

"No, just George."

"Well, Aaron oughta be here soon," she said as she showed Brennan the bleeding wound in her leg.

"You didn't!"

Shalimar nodded.

Brennan leaned his head back and swallowed hard. "This is all so messed up."

"Listen, you stay put in here. I'll be back as soon as I can." She leaned over and kissed him on the lips, excited that he was returning it. 

She smiled at him and closed the door of the shed before making her way to the side of the roof. Looking all around she didn't see George anywhere. She quickly went back down the fire escape and eased her way by the side of one of the buildings. Coming to the corner, she peered around and saw George sitting on an overturned trash can smoking a cigarette.

When he wasn't looking, she ran across the street and positioned herself so she could come up behind him.

Slowly she crept up behind him and got him in a head lock. He grabbed at her arms, trying to free himself from her grip but she held on with all her might. He fell down on his knees as he struggled to breathe.

"There you are!" Aaron said as he appeared out of nowhere.

Shalimar snapped her head up at him as she continued to hold George's neck.

Aaron shook his head and then began firing his gun at George. Several bullets struck him and Shalimar felt him die as she held onto him. She fell to her knees as his body came down to the ground.

"Who told you you could take your monitoring device out? Certainly not me," Aaron said as he stood near her, waving his gun around.

Shalimar remained still and didn't answer.

Aaron brought his gun up and aimed it at her. "You really shouldn't have done that because now I have to end the game sooner. And where's the fun in that?"

Aaron was about to pull the trigger when all of a sudden he was hit with a bolt of electricity. The force sent him back, knocking the gun from his hand, and knocking him unconscious.

Brennan limped over to Shalimar's side within seconds. "Shal? Shal, are you okay?" he said as he knelt before her, putting his hands on her shoulders. Just as he did she fell over onto her back, coughing up some blood. "Shal?!?" He looked down at all of the blood on her. Most of which was George's but some was her own. Taking a closer look, he saw a bullet wound in the right side of her chest, just above her breast.

Brennan placed his hand over the wound, trying to stem the bleeding. "Hang on, Shal!" 

Just as the words came out of his mouth, the Double Helix appeared above them. Adam sent a force field down and retrieved them, quickly getting them into the jet.

As they appeared in the back of the jet, Adam ran over to assess their wounds. Brennan held onto Shalimar as tight as possible.


	4. Chapter 4

Brennan began to wake up and was immediately greeted by Emma smiling down at him. "How are you?" she asked.

He took a moment to give her an honest answer as he took stock of his injuries. "Ouch! Been better," he said as he tried to move. He looked over to his right and saw Shalimar in a bed beside him. "Shalimar!"

Emma put her hands on his shoulders, trying to get him to stay in bed. "She's going to be okay."

"Shal!" he yelled out to her.

Adam burst into the room when he heard the commotion. "Brennan, please. You need to stay in bed. Shalimar can't hear you right now."

Brennan's face was white with fear. "Why? What's wrong with her. Emma said she was okay!"

"She is okay. She's just heavily sedated."

"Why is she on a respirator? Adam! Don't lie to me!"

Adam injected Brennan's I.V. with some medication to help calm him down. Within a few seconds he began to relax.

"One of the bullets passed through George and hit Shalimar in the upper right chest. It didn't go all the way through her because it didn't have enough speed but it pierced her lung. The respirator is helping her breathe until her lung gets strong again."

"I want to touch her," Brennan said in a sob.

Emma and Adam looked at each other.

"Please!"

Adam went over to Shalimar's bed and carefully wheeled it next to Brennan's. 

Brennan reached his hand out and took Shalimar's hand. A single tear rolled down the side of his face, "She's so cold."

"She lost a lot of blood. It will take a little while for her body temperature to return to normal," Adam informed him.

Emma began to cry as she watched another tear fall from Brennan's eye.

Adam motioned to Emma, "We better let them get some rest." Adam tapped Brennan's leg before exiting the room with Emma.

"Shalimar, I KNOW you can hear me right now." Brennan wiped the tears from his eyes. "I want you to know that I love you."

Brennan rubbed her hand, trying to warm it. Just as he was about to put it down he felt her give his hand a slight squeeze.

THE END


End file.
